Grow Fast or Die Slowly

I’m an active Angel Investor, mentor and start-up coach. Because of my experience in software and personal interest I see a loft of software companies. Because we are in a market where startup and growth funding is a little harder to come by than in some larger markets, I also see more “boot-strapped” companies that are rightfully proud of having used limited capital, and a lean customer-centered approach to build their software and revenue. But I also see these company’s virtue being a weakness when they don’t embrace the need to move into growth mode including seeking capital infusion.

By now we know that the “first mover advantage” is mostly a chimera but there is a lot of evidence that the fast-mover is the winner. I found an article by McKinsey that summarizes this well. While I know that most software companies we work with and invest in are far more likely to either fail, or be acquired long before they reach the kind of revenue stages discussed in the article, I think the lessons learned are very applicable.